by Mary Cullen

For the Good of the Church: Unity, Theology and Women

Gabrielle Thomas

SCM Press, 2021

Shortly after Pope Francis was elected in 2013, he gave an interview to his fellow Jesuit Antonio Spadaro, in which he spoke of learning from the Orthodox Church. ‘From them we can learn more about the meaning of episcopal collegiality and the tradition of synodality… In ecumenical relations it is important not only to know each other better, but also to recognise what the Spirit has sown in the other as a gift for us’. This understanding of gift is at the heart of receptive ecumenism, a strategy for ecumenical engagement developed under the leadership of Professor Paul Murray at the Centre for Catholic Studies at Durham University which was established in 2007. Its key question is: what can we learn from other traditions that can help us address the wounds and dysfunctions in our own?

Review by Mary Cullen, editor of Open House